


Listener Line

by GobletGirl



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-09 00:05:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8868349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GobletGirl/pseuds/GobletGirl
Summary: Katniss's sudden realization that she's in love with her best friend makes her do something that will force her to tell him. What will happen when she finally tells him? Will he return her feelings or will she lose her best friend?





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story just wouldn't leave me once I heard it on the radio. I knew it had to be Everlarked. 
> 
> Huge thanks to papofglencoe for her amazing beta skills.

Katniss tapped her fingers lightly on the steering wheel, glancing back toward Jo’s apartment, silently willing her friend to hurry up so they wouldn’t be late for work. She finally saw Jo emerging from her apartment as her favorite radio morning show came back from commercial. She reached over to turn it up as Jo opened the door and slid in.

 

“It’s about time.”

 

Jo gave her a sidelong glance and grinned. “This sort of perfection doesn’t just happen, Brainless.”

 

Katniss snorted, pulling away from Jo’s apartment. “You mean to tell me that you don’t wake up  _ perfect _ ?” 

 

“You know...you’re right. I do wake up this perfect. I just love my sleep.”

 

Katniss shook her head. That definitely sounded more like the Jo she knew. She turned her attention back to the radio show to hear them talk about a group therapy call they would be taking after the next song. She loved those calls. You’d hear it all, from people wanting to know how to handle a bad work situation to relationship and family issues. One time she even remembered a guy who had called to admit he had a sex addiction and had slept with over 30 women during his marriage and his wife didn’t have a clue. Turns out his wife was listening and heard everything. Needless to say, that didn’t end well. So, yeah, she had literally heard it all in her time listening to this morning show.

 

“Welcome back to the show. Our group therapy this morning actually comes from the listener line, which you can call at anytime for any reason. Who knows...you might end up on the radio. The number to call is 713-555-8368. Today’s caller wants to know how to break something to her best friend, or if she even should.” 

 

That’s when Katniss heard a woman’s voice that sounded a bit too familiar.

 

‘Hey. So...I’m in love with my best friend. We been friends for years now...over half my life, in fact, and he’s just the nicest, sweetest guy I’ve ever met. He’s been there for me through so much, but I don’t think he thinks of me that way. It’s becoming so hard to be around him and not say something or do something. He’s my best friend, though, and I don’t want to lose him. I just...I just don’t know what to do. Say something or just continue on the way things are.’ 

 

“Oh that’s a tough one…”

 

Katniss was glad she was stopped at a light, because if she hadn’t been she might have crashed the car when she heard her voice coming from the radio. She stared at the radio, as if that could somehow change what she’d heard. Damn it. She had completely forgotten she had called the listener line. All she’d wanted was to vent. She didn’t think it would actually get played on the radio. She was starting to understand how the sex addiction guy had felt. He probably just wanted to vent, never thinking his wife would hear his confession. 

 

Lord, what if Peeta heard that? She knew he played the radio station in the bakery while he was working. Katniss prayed he would be too busy to pay attention to what the DJs were actually discussing. She didn’t know what she would do if he found out about her feelings.

 

“Katniss...is there something you want to share with the class?” Jo asked. Katniss groaned and glanced over to see the smirk on Jo’s face. She was seriously kicking herself for calling that dumb line now.

 

_ It was Saturday night and Katniss was bored out of her mind. It had been too dreary and rainy during the day for her to go out hiking or shooting, and Peeta had spent the morning working at his bakery, but she knew he should be home by now. She decided to text him and see if he wanted to come over so they could order some food and watch Netflix. _

 

**_Katniss (5:02 pm) - Please tell me you can come over. I’m bored out of my mind and so over this dreary day._ **

 

**_Peeta (5:03 pm) - Tell me about it. At least the dreariness was good for business. Sold a ton of hot chocolate._ **

**_Peeta (5:03 pm) - But I can’t come over...at least not right now._ **

**_Peeta (5:04 pm) - I’ve got a date in an hour._ **

**_Peeta (5:04 pm) - But I’ll call you after maybe if you’re still up we can hang out then :)_ **

 

**_Katniss (5:06 pm) - Oh don’t worry about it. Have fun on your date._ **

 

_ She had promptly thrown her phone to the other side of the couch so she wouldn’t have to see his response. Of course he had a date. He was Peeta. Amazing, sweet, handsome Peeta. _

 

_ She buried her face in the pillows on her couch and let herself wallow in self-pity for a while. What the hell was she going to do? She had come to the realization a few months back that she was in love with her best friend. It had been an ordinary weekend like any other. She had stopped by his bakery in the morning before heading out to shoot some archery. She glanced in the window as she went to the door and saw him laughing with his brother. His face was lit up, and Katniss immediately smiled. Seeing Peeta so happy always brightened her day...hell, seeing Peeta  _ period _ always made her day. And there, opening the door to Mellark’s Bakery and locking eyes with her best friend, she had realized she was in love with him. It hit her like a tidal wave, nearly knocking the breath out of her.  _

 

_ She was in love with the boy who had come to her rescue when they were both still so young and her father had died. She was in love with the boy who had comforted her after her first boyfriend had broken up with her right before prom. She was in love with the man whose face somehow brightened even more upon seeing her standing there in the doorway. _

 

_ Since that day, Katniss had been desperately trying to figure out what to do. She looked for any signs that he felt the same way, but never saw any. And clearly he wasn’t pining for her. He had a date. A  _ date _.  _

 

_ She needed to vent, but had no idea who she could call since she had told no one about her feelings. Then she’d remembered the listener line from her favorite morning radio show. The line where you could call and vent to a machine. It was perfect. So, she looked up the number and called. She simply needed to get it off her chest. Say it out loud. _

 

_ As it turned out, Peeta showed up at her place just after seven. Saying he was never letting his mother set him up again and he didn’t understand why he had caved in the first place.  _

 

They had spent the rest of the night watching Netflix and talking, and Katniss had completely forgotten about the phone call she’d made that night...until this very moment. 

 

Jo was still looking at her expectantly, and Katniss did her best to ignore her friend as she pulled into their office complex. But before she could get out of the car, Jo grabbed her arm. “Not so fast. Are you seriously going to try and tell me that wasn’t you we just heard on the radio?”

 

Katniss sighed and jerked her arm out of Jo’s grip. “Fine. Yes, it was me. I never thought...I didn’t think they would actually air it. I just needed to get it off my chest. I wasーam going crazy trying to keep it all inside.”

 

“Tell him.”

 

Katniss gaped at her. “It’s not that simple. He’s been my best friend for over half my life. I won’t ruin that.” 

 

Jo gave her the look that clearly said she thought Katniss was an idiot. “Katniss, when I first met you both, it took me all of ten minutes to deduce that you two were in love with each other. I even asked Finnick why you two weren’t dating. He told me that there was a bet to see how long it would take you both to admit your feelings for each other. That was three years ago. We’ve all had to make new guesses several times because you two are so blind.”

 

Katniss couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Their friends were making bets on when they would get together? Seriously? But she couldn’t stop the little flicker of hope that sparked at Jo’s words. Could Peeta really feel the same way? Neither of them had been in a relationship in the past several years. Sure, they had both been on first dates here and there, but none of them ever amounted to anything. 

 

Katniss looked back over at Jo. “You really think I should tell him?” 

 

“Yeah. I do.” She stopped and then added, “Although...if you could maybe wait another month, then I’d win the bet.”

 

Katniss huffed and climbed out of the car, ignoring Jo’s loud laughter. Jo had certainly given her a lot to think about.

* * *

 

It had been over a week since her call had been played on the radio and Katniss still hadn’t worked up the courage to say anything to Peeta. They had gone out with all their friends, and there had been several knowing looks shot her way, but Peeta still seemed completely oblivious to her feelings. 

 

If she thought she had spent the last few months analyzing everything he did for clues, it was nothing compared to the past week. She was losing sleep over trying to figure him out. But she kept coming back to the fact that he was the same Peeta she had always known. He treated her the same as he did the day they had met, back when he’d shared his lunch with her when she had nothing to eat.

 

Their friends had to be mistaken. There was no way he was in love with her. But that didn’t stop her from laying awake at all hours of the night thinking about it, and that didn’t stop Jo from constantly asking her if she had made a move or not. 

 

Regardless, she had decided she was finally going to say something. Partly because she was afraid if she didn’t she would become a literal walking zombie due to lack of sleep. She only hoped their friendship could survive the bomb she would be dropping on him tonight, because she didn’t know what she would do without him in her life. He was her rock, her best friend. 

 

She had spent the day out hiking and shooting, and Peeta had said he would come over when he got done with the bakery for the day. They had decided to spend the evening ordering takeout and watching Netflix—exactly what Katniss had wanted to do two weeks ago but instead had called a radio station hotline and set all of this in motion.

 

She had just finished braiding her wet hair from her shower when she heard Peeta’s telltale knock on her front door. She opened the door to find him standing there with coffee cups and a brown paper bag. He grinned at her, his crystal blue eyes shining. “I brought hot chocolate and cheese buns. Figured they could serve as the appetizer before the takeout gets here.”

 

Her anxiety skyrocketed at the sight of him standing in her doorway. She smiled nervously at him as he walked past her into the kitchen, and taking a deep breath, she tried to steady her nerves before joining him in the kitchen. 

 

He was pulling the takeout menus from the drawer when she walked in. “So what do you want tonight? Chinese? Pizza? Thai?”

 

“Whatever sounds good to you,” she said, taking a seat on the stool across from him, afraid if she remained standing he’d see her shaking. 

 

“How about Chinese?” 

 

She nodded her agreement as he pulled out his phone to dial the restaurant. 

 

“The usual?” 

 

She nodded again before reaching for the cheese buns beside him on the counter. He handed the bag and one of the hot chocolates to her before rattling off their usual order to their favorite Chinese place. She took a bit of the cheese bun more for something to do than because she was actually hungry. This was by far her favorite treat he made but today she couldn’t seem to find her usual enjoyment in the gooey bun.

 

While he was preoccupied on the phone, she took the time to study him. He really was very handsome. Perhaps average height, but still several inches taller than her. His blond hair was wavy and currently in need of a cut because it fell into his eyes as he talked. But his eyes had to be his best feature. They were shockingly blue. Katniss still remembered the first time she had ever seen them, that first day they actually talked and he’d shared his lunch with her. His eyes were so expressive, and that day she didn’t see the pity she had seen from everyone else—she simply saw compassion. Those same eyes were currently staring at her humorously. 

 

“Do I have something on my face?”

 

Peeta’s voice snapped her out of her reverie. She hadn’t even realized he had finished ordering, she’d been so caught up in looking at him. She smiled a bit sheepishly at him and shook her head. “Sorry. I tend to zone out when I eat these.”

 

He laughed, coming around the counter to stand by her stool. “Yeah, I know. You always get this glazed look of pure bliss when you eat them.” She lightly hit him in the arm, which only made him laugh harder. “Come on, let’s go find something to watch. Food should be here in twenty minutes.”

 

They settled onto the couch and decided to watch  _ Stranger Things, _ since neither one had seen it yet. Halfway through the first episode the food arrived, and they laid it out on her coffee table before continuing the show. 

 

They were on the third episode, the food long since forgotten, but Katniss couldn’t concentrate. She couldn’t tell someone a thing about the show. She didn’t know the names of the characters, what was going on, or why any of it mattered. She knew absolutely nothing about it. Ever since they sat down, she had been trying to figure out how to tell Peeta she had feelings for him. But she kept coming up with nothing. It didn’t help that he was sitting so close to her on the couch that she could feel his body heat and smell the cinnamon and dill she always associated with him. It was beyond distracting. This was never going to work. How in the world was she supposed to tell him she had feelings for him when she couldn’t even form a coherent thought? 

 

“You know, I think the monster, or whatever that thing is, might be traveling through the electrical lines. Although that doesn’t explain why, when Barb was taken, she showed up in the pool, but it clearly wasn’t the exact same pool. Maybe it’s another dimension or something. What do you think?”

 

Katniss glanced at the TV, realizing Peeta had paused the show and was clearly wanting her take on whatever was going on in it. When she looked over at him, he was looking expectantly at her, waiting for an answer.

 

“Uhh…” Katniss stammered, looking back at the TV. Who the hell was Barb? And there was a monster in this show? Other dimensions? What the hell were they watching?

 

Peeta chuckled. “Have you even been watching? What’s up with you tonight? You’ve been a bit off since I got here. Everything alright? Something you want to talk about?”

 

Katniss looked back over at him. She took a deep breath, but nothing came out of her mouth. She couldn’t seem to get the words out.

 

“Alright, now you’re scaring me.” He turned on the couch so his body faced hers. “What’s up?”

 

She saw the concern clouding his eyes and finally got her vocal cords to work. “Well, it all started with that listener line...actually it started a few months before that. Hell, who knows when it started. Maybe my entire adult life...maybe even high school...middle school. Who the hell knows at this point? But I haven’t been sleeping well. I can’t concentrate on anything. But I’m scared. I don’t want to lose you. You’re my best friend.”

 

“Woah, Katniss, you’re not making any sense. Why in the world would you lose me? You’ll never lose me. Never. And what does that have to do with the radio’s listener line?”

 

She looked down at her hands. There was no way this conversation was going to happen if she had to look at his eyes. She took a deep breath before she continued, trying to make her thoughts more coherent. “Well, I called the radio show because I needed to talk to someone, but I didn’t know who to talk to. I never thought they’d actually air the call,” she muttered. She glanced up at him quickly, seeing the confusion in his eyes. She took another deep breath before pressing on, “A couple months ago, I don’t know if you remember, probably not because you’re not a crazy person like me...but anyways. A couple months ago, I came into the bakery before going to shoot. And you were there, obviously, with Rye, and you two were laughing about something. I have no idea what about, though...it was clearly very funny, whatever it was...butーthat’s not the point. All I know is that at that moment, it hit me.”

 

She could sense that he was waiting for her to continue, but when she didn’t he asked, “What hit you?”

 

“ThatIkindahavefeelingsforyou,” she mumbled under her breath. She was still looking at her hands so she couldn’t see his face, but she saw the slightest tick in his hands. The silence that encompassed the room was suffocating. This was it. She had ruined the best thing in her life. She couldn’t believe Jo had convinced her this was a good idea. She wanted the Earth to open up and swallow her whole in that moment. 

 

“Katniss, look at me.” Peeta’s soft voice broke through the silence in the room.

 

Katniss shook her head. “I can’t,” she muttered so quietly she wasn’t even sure he had heard her. She saw his hand move from his lap. He placed it on the side of her face and gently pulled it up until she was looking into his eyes, which she could have sworn held a bit of hope. 

 

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but did you just said you have  _ feelings  _ for me.”

 

She stared at him for a moment before giving him a small nod, the most she could muster. “Just forget I ever said anything, it was stupー” Peeta cut her off before she could continue. His lips pressed against hers, his hands framing her face. She couldn’t believe how soft his lips were as they moved over hers. Her hands reached up to settle on his forearms as she kissed him back. He pulled back far too soon, in her opinion, resting his forehead against hers.

 

“It’s most definitely not stupid. I think it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard.” His voice was nothing more than a husky whisper in the silence of the room, and his thumbs rubbed gentle circles on her cheeks. She opened her eyes to look at him, and he once again stole her breath. His blue eyes were shining, his lips slightly red and wet from their kiss. “Katniss...you have absolutely no idea the effect you have. I gave up hoping a long time ago you’d ever return my feelings. I figured we were meant to be friends and nothing more, but I would take it. I’d take whatever you’d be willing to give me. And I had come to terms with that only ever being friendship. But now...Katniss...to hear you say you have feelings for me. I don’t think it gets any better than that.”

 

She felt her face break out into a grinーperhaps her largest grin everーso much so that her cheeks were beginning to hurt. She hadn’t ruined the best thing in her life. She couldn’t believe Jo was right. She would never hear the end of it from her, but right now she didn’t want to think about Jo. The only thing she wanted to think about was Peeta, and his mouth on hers. She moved back in, pressing her lips to his. Running her tongue along the seam of his lips, she felt him moan as their tongues met. She moved over him, never letting their lips part, until she was straddling his lap, and his back was against the couch.

 

As their kiss intensified, Peeta ran his hands up and down her back before settling one arm around her waist and his other hand in her hair, pulling her closer to him. She could feel him through his jeans and couldn’t stop herself from grinding her hips down. Peeta broke away with a gasp.

 

“Katniss, we should stop,” he said breathlessly. 

 

“I don’t want to,” she responded, running her fingers through his curls. “I want you, Peeta.”

 

His gaze darkened. “You sure?”

 

She nodded. “Positive.” He studied her a moment longer before seeing the obvious truth in her words. He stood, reaching one hand out to balance himself against the end of the couch, while supporting Katniss with the other. She curled herself around him, winding her legs around his waist, and moved her lips to his neck, lightly sucking along his skin.

 

Peeta groaned and started to move toward her bedroom. “If you don’t want me to drop you, I suggest you stop that till we actually make it your room.”

 

Katniss grinned and looked down at him. She pressed a light kiss to his lips and said, “Sorry. Can’t help it.” He moved a bit quicker toward her room and dropped her to her feet next to the bed. They stared at one another for a moment before Peeta wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, fitting their lips together once more. He took his time exploring her mouth. Katniss lost herself in the kiss, losing track of how long they stood there completely wrapped up in each other. 

 

When breathing became a necessity, Peeta broke away and began trailing kisses down her neck. Tugging her shirt over her head, he reached down and then tugged her shorts down her legs as well. He stepped back, and Katniss felt slightly self-conscious, standing there in nothing but her simple cotton bra and boy shorts. But the way Peeta was looking at her made feel beautiful. “God, you’re gorgeous,” he muttered. She reached out, fisting the bottom of his shirt in her hands and pulling it over his head. She ran her fingers across his toned chest and down to the light sprinkling of hair leading into his jeans where she could clearly see his bulge. She moved toward the button on his jeans, but his hand reached out to stop her. 

 

“Not yet.” He smiled at her, releasing her hand and pulling her back to him. He brought their lips back together while reaching around to remove her bra. She let it fall between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing their chests together. He dragged her underwear down her body and pushed her back to sit on the bed. “Lay back.” He kneeled down in front of her and spread her legs. “You have no idea how many times I’ve thought about this.”

 

Katniss propped herself up on her elbows to look down at him. He glanced up at her, grinning before moving forward and kissing her inner thigh, slowly moving to the one place she desperately wanted his mouth. His eyes flicked up to hers as the tip of his tongue leisurely traced her slit from top to bottom. She gasped at the contact and fell back against the bed. Then Peeta’s fingers were spreading her open, and his tongue plunged into her. Her hips elevated off the bed, and his free arm came around to hold them down as he continued his assault. 

 

“Peeta,” she moaned, clutching at the sheets beneath her. He hummed against her, his finger moving up slowly to rub against her clit. Katniss’s hand shot from the bed, tangling in his hair, trying hopelessly to pull him closer. “God. Don’t stop. Please, Peeta don’t stop.” His mouth replaced his finger around her clit, sucking it into his mouth. Katniss withered under his ministrations, and as Peeta’s moan reverberated around her, she came with an incoherent shout. Peeta continued his attention to her clit as her orgasm washed over her. As she came down from her high, she felt Peeta place a wet kiss against her thigh.

 

She lifted her head to see him grinning at her. “Don’t know what that smug look is all about,” she teased him, trying to regain control of her breathing. 

 

His grin grew wider. “Yeah, no clue why I would be smug.” He leaned up, pressing their lips together. Katniss could still taste herself on his tongue, and she found it strangely erotic. She reached out to unbutton his jeans and pulled them down his legs until he was standing there in nothing but his black boxer briefs, the outline of his cock clearly visible now. 

 

“Please tell me you have a condom,” she pleaded with him. He reached down picking his jeans up off the floor and pulling his wallet out. He pulled a condom out and flipped it over, looking for the something. 

 

“Yessssss. It hasn’t expired yet.” He smiled at her, holding it up between his fingers.  

 

She grinned, moving back on the bed and laying down. “Then get over here.” He stripped off his boxers, and Katniss lost her breath as she looked at his naked form. He was long, thick, and hard, and she had never wanted to touch someone so much before in her life. She reached up, stopping him before he could roll the condom down his length. “Let me.” She wrapped her hand around him, giving him a few pumps before rolling the condom down.

 

He pushed her back onto the bed, crawling over her until he was settled between her legs, his cock lying between her folds. He gave her a slow, deep kiss, lining himself up before pushing inside her wet heat. They both groaned when he was finally sheathed fully inside her. “God, Katniss, you’re so tight. I feel like I’m sixteen all over again.”

 

She moaned, not fully believing this was happening. She had never felt so full before. This was amazing and perfect. She moved her hips, needing him to move. He pulled out and then pushed himself back in, setting a steady rhythm that was slowly driving Katniss to the brink. 

 

“I’m so close, Katniss. You feel too good.”

 

“I’m close, too. Just...need...a bit more.” Peeta reached his hand down, circling her cilt. She cried out at the sensations coursing through her. She came, pulsing around him. Peeta pumped into her a few more times before stilling inside her, emptying himself into the condom. They both breathed heavily as they came down from their highs. 

 

Peeta rolled over so he didn’t crush her underneath his weight and pulled the condom off, tying it off before tossing it into the trashcan beside her bed. He moved back toward her, pulling her closer and wrapping an arm around her. She placed her head on his chest, feeling his heart beating rapidly beneath her hand. She traced random patterns along his stomach as his hand moved along his shoulder while they basked in their post-orgasmic bliss.

 

“Did you know that our friends have a bet as to when we would get together? Apparently, it's been going on for several years,” Katniss said, breaking the silence.

 

Peeta’s hand stilled on her shoulder. “You’re kidding, right? They wouldn’t一wait, they would. It was probably Finnick’s idea. That explains why he would every so often try to get me to admit that I had feelings for you. Those bastards. We have to figure out some way to get them back.”

 

Katniss chuckled, propping her head up on his chest. “I agree. Let’s make it our first act as a couple.”

  
He smiled at her. “I like that idea.” He bent his head to give her one more lingering kiss. “But maybe let’s make it our second act. I’d like the first to take place in this bed, strictly between you and me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought. Here or over on tumblr (gobletgirl there as well)!


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